Kamakura Welcome Guide Association

Kamakura Welcome Guide Association (KWGA) is a group of volunteer tour guides for international tourists and is officially recognized by Kamakura City Tourist Association.
All the tour guides are deeply attached to Kamakura, and welcome all international tourists by showing warm-hearted hospitality.

We guide international tourists and foreigners residing in Japan around Kamakura in a number of foreign languages.
We will do our best to meet tourists’ requests for getting exposed to and/or experiencing Japanese traditional culture.
Please feel free to contact us.

KWGA Photo Gallery

Kamakura Welcome Guide Association was established in 2008 and the
tour guide members have been guiding international tourists and
foreigners residing in Japan around Kamakura and Enoshima areas
since then.

What's NEW

2019/05/05

A New Recommended Tour Route

While Kamakura is full of historical heritage, you can also enjoy walking on mountain trails and having nice views of the mountains and ocean. We have added Kamakura Mountain Trail Walking to our recommended tour routes, so you can make the most of your Kamakura tour. For details, please click here.

2019/04/27

2019 May Non-Reservation Friday Free Guided Tour.

Our Non-Reservation Free Guided Tours run on Fridays from April 5th to October 25th. The details of the May schedule are now provided in READ MORE below. Many tourists from around the world have participated in our tours and we are expecting a lot more tourists to come to Kamakura this year.

Besides the languages in the table below, tour guides speaking German, Italian, Mandarin and Thai might be available but there is no guarantee. You might be lucky enough to do a guided tour in one of those languages.

Tours may be cancelled or stopped due to unforeseen circumstances without prior notice.

May 10

AM Tour

English, Spanish and French

PM Tour

English, Spanish and French

May 17

AM Tour

English and French

PM Tour

English and French

May 24

AM Tour

English, Spanish, French and Portuguese

PM Tour

English, Spanish, French and Portuguese

May 31

AM Tour

English and French

PM Tour

English and French

Tourist Attractions in Kamakura

KAMAKURA, the Ancient City of Samurai
The great samurai leader, Minamoto Yoritomo established the
samurai government for the first time in Japan's history and
placed his headquarters in Kamakura. ・・・ READ MORE

Recommended Tourist Sites

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
The largest native shrine and one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Kamakura. This shrine was founded in 1180 by
then shogun Minamoto Yoritomo, who transferred the shrine from
Yui-Wakamiya to the present site.・・・ READ MORE

Kotokuin (Great Buddha)
This is a seated statue of Amida Nyorai (designated as a
national treasure), one of the biggest Buddha statues in Japan.
It is said that the bronze casting started in 1252 and took more
than ten years to complete.・・・ READ MORE

Friday-Scheduled Guided Tour is ・・・
You just come to the specified meeting point on Fridays. No application is necessary. ・Detailed information
・What's NEW provides dates and languages available on Fridays.

F A Q s

A. No guide fee is required. However, you must pay for your
transportation expenses and admission to shrines and temples.
You must also pay for the same expenses for your tour guide(s).

Q. What is the procedure following my application ?

A. First, we will inform you that we have received your
application.
Second, we will recruit a tour guide appropriate for your
requests. Third, an assigned tour guide will contact you at the
email address you specified in your application. If no tour
guide contacts you by seven days before your tour date, then
your application cannot be met.

Q. What are the working hours ?

A. Our working hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The whole tour
should take no more than 5 hours excluding lunch break.

LINK

Kamakura INFO
Kamakura INFO is the official website for Kamakura sightseeing.
It is run by Kamakura City Tourist Association. Information is available in Japanese and English.
Learn more

Kamakura Sightseeing
This website provides a lot of information about Kamakura sightseeing for international tourists.
It is run by the Department of Commerce Tourism, Kamakura City Office.
Information is available in Japanese, English, Spanish, French, Mandarin (簡体字/繁体字) and Korean.
Learn more